The Bali Guide

It was 2019 and we were planning our wedding and brainstorming honeymoon ideas. Little did we know, we would have to cancel our original wedding plans, have a backyard ceremony in August 2020, and postpone any honeymoon planning until the world opened up again. Three years later, it was finally time.

Bali kept coming up at the top of our list of honeymoon destinations because of these criteria:

We are water people and wanted beaches and pools for this vacation (so no metropolitan cities in Europe, for example).
Because this is a very special occasion, we felt we should go somewhere we wouldn’t go to normally or as easily (so places like Mexico, Hawaii, or the Caribbean were out).
We want our money to go far (crossing places like the Maldives and Bora Bora off our list).

Thailand was also up there, but we thought that could be saved for a future trip (or a trip with friends or family). And so, we agreed on Bali!

From personal experience, I know that there is a ton of information out there about Bali — we did most of our research on TikTok and found it super helpful. I won’t try to cover everything about Bali in this guide, but simply share the key things we did and my thoughts on them.

Here is a high-level rundown of our itinerary (based on location):

4 nights in Seminyak
3 nights in Nusa Dua
2 nights in Canggu
2 nights in Ubud
1 night in Kuta
Bonus 24 hour layover in Singapore before heading back to NYC

Before you go

First, a few things I found helpful to know prior to my trip:

Download Grab and Gojek: These apps are the ‘Uber’ and ‘Lyft’ of Bali. Download them so you can call cars or scooters for short trips.
Know how to hire local drivers: Alternatively (or in combination), you can hire local drivers, especially for longer excursions or day trips. As we walked around, lots of drivers would lightly honk to indicate that they were available. The day before any day trips or longer drives, we would find a driver to negotiate a price and get their WhatsApp information. Generally, we paid about $40-50 for a 10-hour hire.
Take probiotics: We took probiotics daily for the two weeks leading up to our trip. Don’t know if it helped prevent traveler’s diarrhea, but we didn’t get sick! Once we got to Bali, we also used bottled water to brush our teeth as recommended by many travelers.
Get a SIM card at the airport: Before customs, there was a table with several stations to purchase a SIM card (which will only work if your phone is unlocked) which made things very easy.
Arrange airport pickup with your hotel: Most hotels will offer to arrange a car to pick you up. While it could be a bit more expensive than finding a driver on your own, it takes out the hassle after a long journey (over 20 hours for us!). Our ride ended up being a little less than $25.
Exchange some cash when you arrive: We exchanged a small amount of cash when we got to the airport because we at least wanted to be able to tip our driver. I didn’t notice a huge difference in exchange rates across the island, so I wouldn’t stress too much about it.

Seminyak (4 nights)

Courtyard Marriott Seminyak

We spent our first four nights in Seminyak so we could ease into our trip (and properly relax and vacation). We searched high and low for a villa, but found that for couples, hotels are a better deal — if you’re traveling to Bali in a large group, a villa is probably a better option. $160 per night.

The juice bar at Seminyak Kitchen

The Courtyard Marriott Seminyak was an all-around winner. It wasn’t luxurious, but it was clean, spacious, had a great pool, delicious breakfast buffet, and free 5-minute shuttle to a guest-only lounge area on the beach. It’s also very family-friendly if that’s something you’re looking for.

Daily massages

One of our top priorities in Bali was to get massages every day (and twice a day on some days!). I’m not sure if that’s medically recommended, but it was mentally rejuvenating. Here are a few that we went to in Seminyak covering a range of budgets (prices roughly converted):

Ayu Damai Spa: No-frills spa (you will see lots of these around). $3.50 each for a 60-minute foot massage.
Spa Bali Drupadi: Mid-range spa with a nice ambiance. $48 for a 90-minute full body couple’s massage.
Terra Spa: Higher-end spa with various treatments (book in advance). $130 for a 2-hour full body couple’s massage and scrub.

Bali Green Surf School

Even though I grew up in California, I’d never been surfing until this trip. We booked a semi-private lesson at Bali Green Surf School, where there was one instructor for every 2 students.

Over the course of two hours, we learned the proper form for standing up on the board, and then got lots of practice on the “green” (easy/beginner) waves of Double Six Beach. To my surprise, I was able to stand up about five times (before my body just got too tired to push myself up). $70 for two people.

Day trip out of Seminyak

Almost every driver asked us if we were planning to visit the “big statue” at the GWK Cultural Park. I had no idea what this was, but we figured we might as well go before our reservation at El Kabron beach club.

The Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue is 122 meters (400 feet) tall and is inspired by a story from Hindu mythology about the search for the elixir of life. Because of my minimal exposure to Hinduism, it was really interesting to see and learn a bit about Hindu culture throughout our trip.

For about $5 per person, you can visit the park, which includes said statue and some other monuments to explore on the grounds. The ticket also included a free refreshment (we got iced tea) at their restaurant.

After about an hour and a half at the park, we made our way to El Kabron in Uluwatu. Because we weren’t staying in Uluwatu at any point during our two weeks in Bali, we wanted to check out at least one beach club because we heard the area is beautiful — and it certainly was!

For about $190 minimum spend in food and drink, we reserved a sunset view daybed for a good 6-7 hours (there was no limit on the time of the bed, so we had both lunch and dinner there). This is actually a great deal when you consider that we had to order 25 items (including things like mocktails, patatas bravas, pulled pork tacos, charcuterie boards, churros, and even two pieces of merch because we had no more room in our stomachs) just to meet the minimum spend.

Pros: The pool was refreshing (I loved the beach entry style which made for good lounging), the views of the ocean and sunset were impeccable, and we were able to get good shade on our daybed (getting sunburned was a huge concern of mine throughout the trip).

Cons: It was a Herculean feat to meet the minimum spend, and the music was loud to the point that we had to put on some earplugs and noise cancelling AirPods just to make it to sunset.

One restaurant recommendation

I’ll be honest — Balinese food is not my favorite. I did appreciate the level of spice, but found myself craving some brighter flavors. That said, one restaurant I really enjoyed was Mama San. Not only was the food unique and flavorful, but the drinks were yummy and the decor was beautiful. Definitely recommend grabbing a reservation here!

Potato Head Beach Club

I feel that Potato Head Beach Club deserves its own section because it was probably the most recommended spot. First, a disclaimer that we did not book any of the beach club spots (they had some futons facing the ocean, as well as a pool area with some lounge areas), so we only had a meal at the restaurant and then sat by the pool.

My hot take is that this club is very underwhelming, and as someone whose favorite food is anything potato, I was severely disappointed by the lack of potato-forward items on the menu. In all seriousness though, I don’t think it’s worth it to go out of your way to go here (unless maybe you are in a group and can rent out a larger area/table).

Nusa Dua (3 nights)

The Ritz-Carlton Bali

Since this was our honeymoon after all, we wanted to treat ourselves to a luxury resort experience at The Ritz-Carlton Bali and it did not disappoint. Although the rooms were slightly dated, the grounds (especially the pool) were a calming retreat after walking the busy, narrow streets of Seminyak. $350 per night.

I recommend taking advantage of their free activities (we participated in sunrise yoga), and booking an afternoon tea (it’s located in this beautiful open-air lounge and it was so nice to drink tea in the breeze while taking in the views). Their breakfast buffet is also like the Disneyland of breakfast buffets — I still dream of it.

Exploring Nusa Dua

While we spent the majority of our time lounging by the pool, we did take half a day to explore outside of the resort.

Museum Pasifika Bali: A low key but extensive collection of Asia Pacific art, as well as works by Matisse and Gaugin. Roughly $3 per ticket.
Bali Collection: An outdoor mall with chain and local stores, including a large souvenir/gift shop called Bali in Bali.
Waterblow: An interesting natural phenomenon of waves crashing through volcanic rock. Roughly $1.50 per ticket.

Rose Hill Spa

Located down the street from our hotel, Rose Hill Spa ended up being our favorite spa experience of the trip. The pressure of the massage was perfect, and the massage room had a shower so you could get nice and clean afterwards. $100 for a two-hour full body couple’s massage.

Also — this is a very niche observation — the face hole portion of the massage bed was slightly elevated and had a nice memory foam padding around it, which was not only more comfortable on the face but also helped prevent my nose from getting congested (an issue I tend to face when getting full body massages).

It also didn’t hurt that it’s Korean-owned and had a small Korean food menu which was ultra comforting a week into our trip.

Canggu (2 nights)

White Goose Boutique Hotel

I found Canggu to be the most difficult area to find a suitable hotel. The roads are not well connected, so it takes a long time to get anywhere (unless you maybe rent a scooter, but that wouldn’t have been worth it for our short stay). Luckily, White Goose Boutique Hotel was not out of our budget, and happened to be on the same street as a beach club we were interested in checking out (more on that in the next section!). $138 per night.

Any hotel after The Ritz-Carlton was going to be a downgrade for us, but I appreciated the cute boho vibes of this boutique hotel. While it seemed to be well-staffed and kept clean, some issues I had were that bottled water was limited to one per person per night (which was easily solved by a quick stop by the convenience store) and I’m pretty sure I got several mosquito bites while staying here (but they do provide some bug spray in the rooms). The pool was also very cold so I didn’t end up taking advantage of it.

Atlas Beach Fest

Oh, Atlas…one of my fondest memories of the trip. We had a few friends that were in Bali for a wedding, and had one night to hang out (and crash the unofficial pre-wedding festivities) — so we decided to take over Atlas Beach Fest.

Dubbed the “world’s biggest beach club,” Atlas is a sprawling outdoor club with pools, semi-submerged daybeds, a dance floor, performers, and beach access. Let me tell you, when I say all club experiences are ruined for me after this one — I mean it. To be able to sunbathe, swim, go down to the beach, jump around on the dance floor, take another dip in the pool — and then repeat — was heavenly.

Because of the party vibes, it’s definitely better to go here in a group — we even saw a huge family reunion in one of the pools in front of us! I love being able to see friends in different parts of the world, and feel so lucky we got to have this experience together.

Ubud (2 nights)

The Kailas

Finally, our first (and only) villa of the trip! At The Kailas, we booked a simple two-story villa with a minimal breakfast, private pool, and easy access to the main street of Ubud (by foot at least). The roads in Ubud, especially the one our villa was on, are very narrow, so riding in cars was nerve-wracking to say the least. Similar to Canggu, it was difficult to find a nice enough spot within our budget, and I’d say this spot did the job. $134 per night.

Cretya Day Club

You can thank TikTok for this one! Located in Alas Harum, which is sort of like a theme park of Ubud-related activities (swings, rice terraces, and coffee), Cretya is a pool club with several pools and one hot tub overlooking rice terraces.

For about $150 minimum spend, we booked a terrace bed from 9am-2pm (this one had a time limit). I highly recommend grabbing one of the early time slots because A) there is not much shade and the sun started to get very strong in the early afternoon and B) it’s much less crowded and more enjoyable in the morning. Similar to El Kabron, it took a lot of effort to eat enough food to reach the minimum spend, but Cretya’s menu leans “healthier” so it felt slightly easier.

Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve

After our lovely stay at The Ritz-Carlton in Nusa Dua, we wanted to check out Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve — one of only six “Reserve” (an extra-luxurious category of The Ritz-Carlton) properties in the world. While staying here was leagues out of our budget, we were able to have afternoon tea at their bar, Ambar.

We weren’t too hungry so we ordered just one afternoon tea — but in true Ritz-Carlton fashion, they provided extra care by giving us two servings of some of the items simply because they wanted us both to enjoy them. After being at a bustling pool club all day, Ambar provided us with a peaceful oasis.

Kuta (1 night)

Fairfield South Kuta

Our final day in Bali was a travel day back from Ubud, so we really just stayed in Kuta to be close to the airport for our morning flight. We stayed at the Fairfield South Kuta because it was cheap and only about 5 minutes away from the airport. $58 a night.

Kuta is for the tourists

Arguably, many parts of Bali (and all the areas we stayed in) are “for the tourists,” but Kuta is at the top of that pyramid. Kuta definitely has the most chain restaurants, as well as many dive bars and gift shops.

On our night here, we got one final foot massage (and a hair treatment because our hair had gotten so dry from all the swimming and sun), and finally tried some Indonesian McDonald’s (verdict: very spicy but not one of my favorite international McDonald’s).

Bonus 21-hour layover in Singapore

But wait! The trip is not over. Because we used our Capital One Venture X miles to book business class flights back to New York (a welcome treat after flying economy via Istanbul on our way to Bali), we had a 21-hour layover in Singapore.

Newton Food Centre (feat. in Crazy Rich Asians)

We heard that the food in Singapore is amazing, so our itinerary was “centred” on the many hawker centres Singapore has to offer. Here was our speed food run through the city-state:

Hotel: The Westin Singapore (45,000 Bonvoy points for one night)
Maxwell Food Centre: We got lunch here and ordered Haianese chicken rice from Ah Tai, and hokkien mee and char kway teow from Marina South Delicious Food. We also got some juices — highly recommend getting soursop juice and ice lemon tea!
Orchard Road: An avenue of malls/shopping — we went into one of the malls to have some kaya toast from Ya Kun (a chain).
Newton Food Centre: The hawker centre featured in Crazy Rich Asians. We got some teochew fishball noodles (I forget which stand), and the famous chili crab from Alliance Seafood. We ended up doing a small food swap with some ladies sitting near us, and traded some chili crab for grilled prawns — I am not a shellfish person, but these prawns were DELICIOUS.
Lau Pa Sat: After a quick rest and night swim at the hotel and walk around the Marina Bay, we got some dim sum and duck and rice at Lau Pa Sat. Because it was late, most of the stalls were closed.

Maxwell Food Centre was easily my favorite (and felt the most local)

An Unforgettable Trip

Campuhan Ridge Trail in Ubud (where I did a short run for my marathon training)

In some ways, Bali was not what I expected — the infrastructure can’t quite keep up with the demands of tourism, and I didn’t have as much beach swimming time as I dreamed of (some of the waters are just a bit rough for enjoyable swimming). But overall, this was such an incredible trip. Daily massages and swimming, learning how to surf, and watching sunrises and sunsets on the beach…it’s hard to beat. Plus, the friendly, welcoming culture made our two weeks there feel so comfortable. I would take any opportunity to visit Bali again, and next time check out more of the nature and the smaller islands around it.

To Bali: Terima kasih for the beautiful memories and perfect place for our honeymoon — it was worth the wait.